Revocation of petitions

There are instances when an I-130 Petition, even if already approved by the USCIS can still be revoked either voluntarily or by law. An example of a voluntary revocation is when the petitioner withdraws. Other circumstances include death of the beneficiary, termination of the marriage in an immediate relative, or second preference petition filed by a spouse, marriage of an adult son or daughter of a lawful permanent resident petitioner, and death of the petitioner, unless reinstated by the attorney general upon request. Let us examine each. One year ago, a friend called asking me what could be done about her brother's petition. Her brother is the father of a naturalized American citizen daughter who petitioned for him. It was approved by USCIS, passed through the National Visa Center and he was set for interview at the US Consulate. Before the interview, there was a major argument between the father and daughter and it led her to write to the US Consulate not to pursue the petition. The US Consulate had no choice but notify him his petition was revoked and his interview appointment cancelled.

When the beneficiary of an I-130 petition dies, the petition is automatically revoked. No substitution is allowed. So if Pedro the beneficiary dies, Juan, cannot take over and replace Pedro as the new beneficiary using the same I-130 petition. Juan must be a beneficiary in his own right.

Just a month ago a man named Roel told me he filed an I-130 petition for his wife. It is now pending at the National Visa Center. Now he wants to divorce her. What happens to the petition if the divorce becomes final? In this case, the petition is automatically revoked since the marriage is already dissolved. Remember that marriage to a US citizen or a greencard holder is the basis for the petition. If that ceases to exist then there is no more basis for the petition. There is no immigrant preference category for ex-spouses.

This is also true for adult sons and daughters of greencard holders under the second preference category. Keep in mind that the 2B category is for unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents. If they get married while their petition is pending under this category, their petition is automatically revoked because their marriage caused them to be removed from that category. There is also no preference category for married adult children of lawful permanent residents. This scenario is one of the most common and popular questions that I receive.

Lastly, death of a petitioner also revokes the petition. However, the petition can still be reinstated when upon request to the attorney general and at his discretion, he determines that for humanitarian reasons revocation would be inappropriate. In future columns, we will discuss scenarios that could be considered as "humanitarian reasons". Also, if the USA spouse/ petitioner dies after two years of marriage, the noncitizen spouse could qualify for immigration benefits as a widow/ widower. So there could still be hope in these cases.

‘If they get married while their petition is pending under this category, their petition is automatically

revoked because their marriage caused them to be removed from that category.’